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William Price (doctor)

William Price (doctor)

Dr. William Price (1800 – 23 January 1893) of Pontypridd, South Wales, was a physician and a famous eccentric, best known for introducing cremation to the United Kingdom. He was a prominent Welsh Chartist and was forced to flee to Paris, France, after his part in the Newport Rising of 1839. He was an equally prominent Druid and exponent of 19th-century Druidic traditions, appointing himself as archdruid. As a child, Price caused consternation by walking the hills naked. In later life, his list of eccentric behaviours included wearing a fox-skin headress, never wearing socks (which, he thought, were unhygienic), refusing to treat smokers, only accepting payment from patients he failed to cure, and washing every coin he received. He was also a vegetarian, saying that eating meat "brought out the beast in man". He is remembered chiefly as the performer of the first legal cremation in the United Kingdom, which took place on 18 January 1884, when he attempted to burn the body of his five-month-old son, Jesus Christ Price (Iesu Grist Price in Welsh). The infant was the illegitimate son of Price, who was 83 years old, and his housekeeper. As part of his druid faith, William Price believed that burial was a sin against the earth and felt that cremation was a much better option, even though this was widely thought to be illegal in Britain at the time. Price made no attempt to disguise his actions, and publicly declared that he would burn the body on a pyre of coal on a hillside overlooking Llantrisant. When he started to perform the Druidic lamentations, he was watched by a crowd who were largely opposed to him. Shortly after Price lit the pyre, the body was snatched from the flames and Price was arrested for illegal disposal of a body. Price was prosecuted, but successfully defended himself. The judge at the Cardiff Assizes agreed that, under English law, an action wasn't illegal unless it was specifically proscribed: because the law made no explicit reference to cremation, the practice was therefore legal. Nevertheless, the case set a precedent, which led to the Cremation Act 1902. Price did not believe in marriage, which he saw as the enslavement of women. However, shortly before his death, at the age of 92, he fathered a second son and a daughter with Gwenllian Llywelyn, his partner at the time. Following his death in 1893, he was, of course, cremated on a pyre of coal, in accordance with his will. His funeral took place on 31 January 1893, on the same hillside overlooking Llantrisant ([http://www.gtj.org.uk/item.php?lang=en&id=2857&t=1 photo]). It was watched by some 20,000 people, most of whom were opposed to the cremation. The events made national news when they were reported in The Times the next morning.

References


- [http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2002/09/15/1032054710047.html?oneclick=true TheAge article] on the life of William Price.
- [http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/southeast/halloffame/historical_figures/william_price.shtml BBC Wales article] on William Price

External links


- [http://www.gtj.org.uk/en/blowup1/2856 Photograph of William Price] (in fox-skin, left) with Robert Anderson, 1892
- [http://www.gtj.org.uk/en/item1/2836 Ballard of the cremation of Dr William Price, 1893] Price, William Price, William Category:Vegetarians Category:Welsh people

1800

1800 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar).

Events


- March 14 - Cardinal Barnaba Chiaramonti is elected pope as Pius VII.
- March 21 - Pius VII is ordained.
- April 24 - U.S. Library of Congress founded.
- May 5 - Great Britain passes the Act of Union to join Great Britain and Ireland into the United Kingdom to take effect on 1 January 1801. The act is signed by King George III in August.
- May 15 - Napoleon Bonaparte crosses the Alps and invades Italy.
- June 14 - Battle of Marengo, Napoleon defeats the Austrian troops near Marengo, Italy.
- June 2 - First smallpox vaccination in North America, at Trinity, Newfoundland.
- June 27 - Pascha Jussuf Karamanli of Tripoli declares war on Sweden by having the flagpole on the consulate chopped down.
- September 5 - The island of Malta, that was occupied by the French, is conquered by British troops.
- November 1 - U.S. President John Adams becomes the first President of the United States to live in the Executive Mansion (later renamed the White House).
- November 17 - The U.S. Congress holds its first Washington, DC session.
- December 3 - Battle of Hohenlinden, the French army defeats the Austrian troops.
- December 24 - An assault on Napoleon Bonaparte fails in Paris.
- December 24 - Pierre Coudrin and Henriette Aymer de la Chevalerie found the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary in Paris.
- Invention of the voltaic pile by Alessandro Volta: the first chemical battery
- The infrared radiation is discovered by Wilhelm Herschel.
- The Althing of Iceland, the world's oldest parliament, is abolished.

Ongoing events


- French Revolutionary Wars (1792-1802)-Second Coalition/Egyptian Campaign
- Napoleonic Wars (1799-1815)-Second Coalition/Egyptian Campaign

Deaths


- January 1 - Francis Egerton, 1st Earl of Ellesmere (died 1857)
- January 7 - Millard Fillmore, 13th President of the United States (died 1874)
- January 12 - George Villiers, 4th Earl of Clarendon, English diplomat and statesman (died 1870)
- January 14 - Ludwig von Köchel, Austrian musicologist (died 1877)
- January 17 - Caleb Cushing, American statesman and diplomat (died 1879)
- January 24 - Edwin Chadwick, English social reformer (died 1890)
- January 26 - Elizabeth Ann Whitney, Mormon leader (died 1882)
- February 1 - Brian Houghton Hodgson, English civil servant (died 1894)
- February 6 - Achille Devéria, French painter and lithographer (died 1857)
- February 9 - Hyrum Smith, American religious leader (died 1844)
- February 9 - Joseph von Führich, Austrian painter (died 1876)
- February 11 - William Fox Talbot, English photographic pioneer (died 1877)
- February 12 - John Edward Gray, British zoologist (died 1875)
- February 23 - William Jardine, Scottish naturalist (died 1874)
- February 26 - Lucius Lyon, U.S. statesman (died 1851)
- March 3 - Heinrich Georg Bronn, German geologist and paleontologist (died 1862)
- March 10 - Victor Aimé Huber, German social reformer (died 1869)
- March 12 - Louis Prosper Gachard, Belgian man of letters (died 1885)
- March 16 - Emperor Ninko of Japan (died 1846)
- March 17 - Rudolf Ewald Stier, German Protestant churchman and mystic (died 1862)
- March 20 - Gottfried Bernhardy, German philologist and literary historian (died 1875)
- March 25 - Alexis Paulin Paris, French scholar and author (died 1881)
- March 25 - Ernst Heinrich Karl von Dechen, German geologist and mineralogist (died 1889)
- March 28 - Johann Georg Wagler, German herpetologist (died 1832)
- April 4 - Tokugawa Nariaki, Japanese daimyo of Mito (died 1860)
- April 15 - James Clark Ross, British naval officer and explorer (died 1862)
- April 16 - Jakob Heine, German orthopaedist (died 1879)
- April 16 - George Bingham, 3rd Earl of Lucan, British soldier (died 1888)
- April 29 - Hiram Cronk, last surviving veteran of the War of 1812 (died 1905)
- May 5 - Louis Christophe François Hachette, French publisher (died 1864)
- May 8 - Armand Carrel, French writer (died 1836)
- May 9 - John Brown, American abolitionist (died 1859)
- May 9 - Samuel Carter Hall, English journalist (died 1889)
- June 1 - Charles Fremantle, Royal Navy officer (died 1869)
- June 17 - William Parsons, 3rd Earl of Rosse, Irish astronomer (died 1867)
- June 23 - Karol Marcinkowski, Polish physician and social activist (died 1846)
- July 14 - Jean-Baptiste Dumas, French chemist (died 1884)
- July 19 - Juan José Flores, first president of Ecuador (died 1864)
- July 22 - Jakob Lorber, German Christian mystic (died 1864)
- July 22 - Robert McCormick, British Royal Navy surgeon (died 1890)
- July 31 - Friedrich Wöhler, German chemist (died 1882)
- August 4 - Hercules L. Dousman, American trader and financier (died 1868)
- August 10 - Otto August Rosenberger, German astronomer (died 1890)
- August 12 - Jean-Jacques Ampère, French philologist (died 1864)
- August 19 - Buckner Stith Morris, mayor of Chicago (died 1879)
- August 19 - James Lenox, American bibliophile and philanthropist (died 1880)
- August 22 - Edward Barron Chandler, American politician (died 1880)
- August 22 - William S. Harney, U.S. general (died 1889)
- August 22 - Edward Bouverie Pusey, English churchman (died 1882)
- August 25 - Karl Hase, German Protestant theologian and Church historian (died 1890)
- September 6 - Catharine Beecher, American educator (died 1878)
- September 11 - Daniel S. Dickinson, Confederate admiral (died 1866)
- September 13 - Franklin Buchanan, officer in the U.S. Navy who became an admiral in the Confederate Navy during the American Civil War (died 1874)
- September 13 - David Stewart, American politician (died 1858)
- September 15 - Paul Friedrich, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (died 1842)
- September 19 - William McKean, admiral in the United States Navy (died 1865)
- September 20 - Benjamin Franklin White, American singing master (died 1879)
- September 22 - George Bentham, English botanist (died 1884)
- September 22 - Thomas Holloway, English pharmacist and philanthropist (died 1883)
- September 23 - William Holmes McGuffey, American professor who created the McGuffey Readers (died 1873)
- September 30 - Decimus Burton, prolific English architect and garden designer (died 1881)
- October 1 - Lars Levi Laestadius, Swedish Lutheran pastor of Sami ancestry (died 1861)
- October 2 - Nat Turner, American slave rebel (died 1831)
- October 3 - George Bancroft, American historian and statesman (died 1891)
- October 8 - Jules Desnoyers, French geologist and archaeologist (died 1887)
- October 18 - Henry Taylor, English dramatist (died 1886)
- October 22 - Christian Lassen, German orientalist (died 1876)
- October 23 - Henri Milne-Edwards, French zoologist (died 1885)
- October 25 - Thomas Babington Macaulay, 1st Baron Macaulay, British poet (died 1859)
- October 25 - Jacques Paul Migne, French priest and theologian (died 1875)
- October 26 - Helmuth von Moltke the Elder, German field marshal (died 1891)
- October 27 - Benjamin Wade, U.S. lawyer and politician (died 1878)
- November 4 - Edwin Waller, Americian entrepreneur (died 1881)
- November 4 - George Long, English classical scholar (died 1879)
- November 17 - Achille Fould, French financier and politician (died 1867)
- November 18 - John Nelson Darby, British evangelist (died 1882)
- November 22 - Linn Boyd, U.S. politician (died 1859)
- November 27 - Frances Anne Kemble, British actress and author (died 1893)
- December 1 - Mihály Vörösmarty, Hungarian poet (died 1855)
- December 3 - France Prešeren, Slovenian poet (died 1849)
- December 4 - Emil Aarestrup, Danish erotic poet (died 1856)
- December 4 - William Fenwick Williams, British military (died 1883)
- December 5 - Thomas Ford, governor of Illinois (died 1850)
- December 7 - Giuseppe Gené, Italian naturalist and author (died 1847)
- December 25 - John Phillips, English geologist (died 1874)
- December 27 - John Goss, English organist and composer (died 1880)
- December 29 - Charles Goodyear, American rubber magnate (died 1860)
- Aga Khan I, Shah of Persia (died 1881)
- Jewgenij Abramovich Baratynski, Russian poet (died 1844)
- Ugo Bassi, Italian patriot (died 1849)
- James Black, creator of the original Bowie knife (died 1870)
- Elias Boudinot, Cherokee who started and edited the tribe's first newspaper (died 1839)
- John McLeod Campbell, Scottish churchman (died 1872)
- Robert L. Caruthers, Confederate governor of Tennessee (died 1882)
- Martín Perfecto de Cos, Mexican general (died 1854)
- Catherine Crowe, British writer (died 1876)
- John Evelyn Denison, 1st Viscount Ossington, English statesman (died 1875)
- Karl Wilhelm Feuerbach, German geometer (died 1827)
- Charles Auguste Désiré Filon, French historian (died 1875)
- James Glynn, United States Navy officer (died 1871)
- Edwin Guest, English antiquary (died 1880)
- James Henry Hackett, United States actor (died 1871)
- Charles Wood, 1st Viscount Halifax, English statesman (died 1885)
- Anna Maria Hall, Irish writer (died 1889)
- George Hudson, English railway financier (died 1871)
- John Hudson, English classical scholar (died 1871)
- Frederick Yeates Hurlstone, English painter (died 1869)
- Richard Lawrence, attempted assassin of Andrew Jackson (died 1861)
- Thomas Henry Lister, English novelist (died 1842)
- Ramón María Narváez, Spanish soldier and statesman (died 1868)
- William Nicholson, officer in the United States Navy (died 1872)
- Johann Gerhard Oncken, German Baptist preacher (died 1884)
- Mustafa Resid Pasha, Turkish statesman and diplomat
- William Cavendish-Scott-Bentinck, 5th Duke of Portland (died 1879)
- Gustaw Potworowski, Polish activist (died 1860)
- William Price, British physician and eccentric (died 1893)
- John Baptist Purcell, U.S. (Irish-born) archbishop (died 1883)
- Ippolito Rosellini, Italian Egyptologist (died 1843)
- Roman Sanguszko, Polish noble (died 1881)
- William Simson, Scottish portrait (died 1847)
- Henrietta Constance Smithson, Irish actress (died 1854)
- Pierre St. Amant, leading French chess master (died 1872)
- Nicholas P. Trist, secretary to Andrew Jackson (died 1874)
- A.W. Volkmann, German physiologist (died 1877)
- Richard Bethell, 1st Baron Westbury, Lord Chancellor of Great Britain (died 1873)
- Jacob Westervelt, American shipbuilder and mayor of New York (died 1856)
- Andrzej Artur Zamoyski, Polish nobleman (died 1874)

Births


- January 1 - Louis-Jean-Marie Daubenton, French naturalist (born 1716)
- January 6 - William Jones, English divine (born 1726)
- January 9 - Jean Étienne Championnet, French general (born 1762)
- January 13 - Dempsey Burges, Republican U.S. Congressman (born 1751)
- January 20 - Thomas Mifflin, fifth President of the United States in Congress assembled under the Articles of Confederation (born 1744)
- January 22 - George Steevens, English Shakespearean commentator (born 1736)
- January 23 - Edward Rutledge, U.S. statesman (born 1749)
- February 2 - James C. Jarvis, United States Navy officer (born 1787)
- February 23 - Joseph Warton, English academic and literary critic (born 1722)
- March 1 - John Hazelwood, officer in the Continental Navy (born 1726)
- March 14 - Daines Barrington, English naturalist (born 1727)
- March 21 - William Blount, U.S. statesman (born 1749)
- March 29 - Marc René, marquis de Montalembert, French military engineer and writer (born 1714)
- April 25 - Ezekiel Cornell, Continental Congressman from Rhode Island (born 1732)
- April 25 - William Cowper, English poet (born 1731)
- May 4 - Armand, duc d'Aiguillon (born 1750)
- May 7 - Niccola Piccinni, Italian composer (born 1728)
- May 18 - Alexander Suvorov, Count of Rymnik (born 1729)
- June 14 - Louis Charles Antoine Desaix de Veygoux, French military leader (killed in battle) (born 1768)
- June 14 - Jean Baptiste Kléber, French general (assassinated) (born 1753)
- June 20 - Abraham Gotthelf Kästner, German mathematician (born 1719)
- June 30 - Thomas Townshend, 1st Viscount Sydney, British politician (born 1732)
- July 14 - Lorenzo Mascheroni, Italian mathematician (born 1750)
- July 18 - John Rutledge, governor of South Carolina (born 1739)
- August 31 - John Blair, American politician (born 1732)
- September 26 - William Billings, American choral composer (born 1746)
- September 27 - William Gibbons, American lawyer and revolutionary (born 1726)
- September 29 - Michael Denis, Austrian poet (born 1729)
- October 16 - Benjamin Huntington, American lawyer and politician (born 1736)
- October 28 - Artemas Ward, American Major General in the American Revolutionary War and a Congressman from Massachusetts (born 1727)
- November 5 - Jesse Ramsden, English astronomical instrument maker (born 1735)
- December 17 - William Peery, American farmer and lawyer (born 1743)
- December 27 - Hugh Blair, Scottish Presbyterian preacher and man of letters (born 1718)
- Jean-Baptiste Audebert, French artist and naturalist
- Angelo Maria Bandini, Italian author (born 1726)
- Samuel Barrington, British admiral (born 1729)
- François Claude Amour, marquis de Bouillé, French general (born 1739)
- Thomas Conway, Irish soldier (born 1734)
- Henry Cort, English ironmaster
- George Dixon, English sea captain and explorer (born 1755)
- Joseph de Guignes, French orientalist (born 1721)
- Johann Hermann, German physician and naturalist (born 1738)
- Charles Johnstone, Irish writer (born 1719)
- Rawlins Lowndes, American lawyer and jurist (born 1721)
- Elizabeth Montagu, English literary critic (born 1720)
- Kazimierz Poniatowski, Polish nobleman (born 1721)
- Gabriel, African American slave and revolutionary (born 1775)
- Maciej Radziwill, Polish nobleman (born 1749)
- Baron von Riedesel, German soldier (born 1738)
- Mary Robinson, English poet (born 1756)
- Matthew Robinson, 2nd Baron Rokeby, English eccentric nobleman (born 1712)
- Charles Stewart, American revolutionary (born 1729)
- Aleksander August Zamoyski, Polish nobleman
- Théophile Corret de la Tour d'Auvergne, Grenadier officer in the French army (born 1743) Category:1800 ko:1800년 ms:1800

1893

1893 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar).

Events


- January 1 - Japan accepts the Gregorian calendar
- January 2 - Introduction by Webb C. Ball of the General Railroad Timepiece Standards in North America: Railroad chronometers
- January 13 - The Independent Labour Party of the UK has its first meeting.
- January 17 - Intervention by the U.S. Marines in Hawaii, resulting in overthrow of government of Queen Liliuokalani of Hawaii
- January 21 - First "performance" of the Cherry sisters in Marion, Iowa. Their neighbors are uncritical and the sisters decide to launch a tour
- February 1 - Thomas A. Edison finishes construction of the first motion picture studio (West Orange, New Jersey).
- February 21 - Thomas Edison receives two U.S. patents. The first is for a "Cut Out for Incandescent Electric Lamps" and another for a "Stop Device" (No. 491,992-3). Also No. 492,150 for "Process of Coating Conductors for Incandescent Lamps."
- February 23 - Rudolf Diesel receives a patent for the diesel engine
- March 4 - End of term for President of the United States Benjamin Harrison. He is succeeded by Stephen Grover Cleveland.
- March 10 - Côte d'Ivoire becomes a French colony
- March 20 - In Belgium, Adam Worth is sentenced for seven year for robbery (he is released 1897)
- April 8 - First recorded college basketball game occurs in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania between the Geneva College Covenanters and the New Brighton YMCA.
- May 1 - The 1893 World's Fair, also known as the World's Columbian Exposition, opens to the public in Chicago, Illinois, USA. The first United States commemorative postage stamps were issued for the Exposition.
- May 5 - Panic of 1893: Crash on the New York Stock Exchange starts a depression.
- May 9 - First public demonstration of Edison's 1 1/2" system of Kinetoscope at the Brooklyn Institute.
- June 6 - Marriage of Prince George, Duke of York and Mary of Teck.
- June 7 Gandhi's first act of civil disobedience.
- June 22 - Flagship Victoria of the British Mediterranean Fleet collides with Camperdown and sinks in 10 minutes - vice-admiral Sir George Tryon goes down with it
- July 6 - The small town of Pomeroy, Iowa was nearly destroyed by a tornado. Seventy-one people were killed and two hundred were injured.
- July 11 - Kokichi Mikimoto develops the method to achieve cultured pearls.
- July 12 - Frederick Jackson Turner gives his famous lecture entitled "The Significance of the Frontier in American History" before the American Historical Association in Chicago
- June 20 - Lizzie Borden acquitted of murder of her father and stepmother
- June 22 – Flagship HMS Victoria of the British Mediterranean Fleet collides with HMS Camperdown and sinks in 10 minutes - vice-admiral Sir George Tryon goes down with it
- August 27 - The Sea Islands Hurricane hits Savannah, Charleston and the Sea Islands; 1000-2000 dead.
- September 11 - Opening meeting of the World Parliament of Religions in Chicago.
- September 19 - Russian ironclad Rusalka disappears in a storm en route from Tallinn to Helsinki (hulk found July 2003 off Helsinki)
- September 27 - Closing meeting of the World Parliament of Religions in Chicago.
- October 10 - First car number plates in Paris, France
- October 30 - The 1893 World's Fair, also known as the World Columbian Exposition, closes.
- November 7 - Colorado women are granted the right to vote.

Exact month/day of event unknown


- New Zealand becomes first country in the world to grant women the vote.
- American Council on Alcohol Problems established.
- Global financial panic (Panic of 1893)
- Physicist Wilhelm Wien composes Wien's Law
- France conquers Vietnam.
- General strike in Belgium
- American Temperance University opened.
- Milbank Penitentiary in Britain demolished
- US President Cleveland operated on in secret
- The Wengernalpbahn in Wengen, Switzerland (Canton of Bern) is opened.
- Athletic Club Královské Vinohrady is founded. Later the team was renamed to Sparta Prague
- Anti-Saloon League established in U.S. to promote temperance movement
- Committee of Fifty for the Study of the Liquor Problem established.

Births


- January 5 - Paramahansa Yogananda, Indian guru (d. 1952)
- January 12 - Hermann Göring, Nazi official (d. 1946)
- January 12 - Alfred Rosenberg, Nazi official (d. 1946)
- January 15 - Ivor Novello, Welsh actor and musician (d. 1951)
- January 22 - Conrad Veidt, German actor (d. 1943)
- February 3 - Gaston Julia, French mathematician (d. 1978)
- February 10 - Jimmy Durante, American actor, singer, and comedian (d. 1980)
- February 12 - Omar Bradley, American general (d. 1981)
- February 16 - Katharine Cornell, American actress (d. 1974)
- February 21 - Andrés Segovia, Spanish guitarist (d. 1987)
- March 1 - Mercedes de Acosta, American poet, playwright, costume designer, and socialite (d. 1968)
- March 3 - Beatrice Wood, American artist and ceramicist (d. 1998)
- March 18 - Wilfred Owen, English soldier and poet (d. 1918)
- April 3 - Leslie Howard, English actor (d. 1943)
- April 9 - Victor Gollancz, British publisher (d. 1967)
- April 12 - Robert Harron, American actor (d. 1920)
- April 23 - Allen Dulles, American Central Intelligence Agency director (d. 1969)
- April 29 - Harold C. Urey, American chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1981)
- May 3 - Konstantine Gamsakhurdia, Georgian writer and public benefactor (d. 1975)
- May 23 - Ulysses S. Grant IV, American geologist and paleontologist (d. 1977)
- June 24 - Roy Oliver Disney, brother and business partner of Walter Elias Disney (d. 1971)
- July 25 - Dorothy Dickson, American-born actress and socialite (d. 1995)
- June 26 - Big Bill Broonzy, American blues singer and composer (d. 1958)
- July 3 - Mississippi John Hurt, American musician (d. 1966)
- July 9 - George Geary, English cricketer (d. 1981)
- August 6 - Wright Patman, American politician (d. 1976)
- August 15 - Leslie Comrie, New Zealand astronomer and computing pioneer (d. 1950)
- August 22 - Dorothy Parker, American writer (d. 1967)
- August 30 - Huey Long, Louisiana governor and senator (d. 1935)
- September 13 - Larry Shields, American musician (d. 1953)
- September 16 - Albert Szent-Györgyi, Hungarian physiologist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1986)
- October 1 - Marianne Brandt, German industrial designer (d. 1983)
- October 9 - Mário de Andrade, Brazilian writer and photographer (d. 1945)
- October 14 - Lillian Gish, American actress (d. 1993)
- October 15 - King Carol II of Romania (d. 1953)
- October 18 - Georges Ohsawa, Japanese founder of Macrobiotics (d. 1966)
- November 3 - Edward Adelbert Doisy, American biochemist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (d. 1986)
- November 8 - Clarence Williams, American jazz musician (d. 1965)
- December 24 - Ruth Chatterton, American actress (d. 1961)
- December 26 - Mao Zedong, Chinese leader (d. 1976)

Exact month/day of birth unknown


- Clement Martyn Doke, South African linguist (d. 1980)
- Berthold Bartosch, Bohemian animator (d. 1968)

Deaths


- January 2 - John Obadiah Westwood, British entomologist
- January 7 - Jožef Stefan, Slovenian physicist, mathematician, and poet (b. 1835)
- January 17 - Rutherford B. Hayes, 19th President of the United States
- January 23 - Lucius Quintus Cincinnatus Lamar, U.S. Supreme Court justice
- February 1 - George Henry Sanderson, Mayor of San Francisco
- February 20 - P.G.T. Beauregard, American Confederate general
- March 30 - Jane Sym-Mackenzie, First Lady of Canada
- June 21 - Amasa Leland Stanford, Governor of California
- June 23 - Sir Theophilus Shepstone, South African statesman (b. 1817)
- October 10 - Lip Pike, baseball player
- October 30 - Sir John Joseph Caldwell Abbott, Canadian politician

Marriages


- January 7 - Mary Gish & James Leigh de Guiche
- April 20 - King Ferdinand & Maria Louisa de Bourbon
- May 2 - Marie Eve & August Strindberg
- May 30 - Israël Querido & Janet Sjouwerman
- July 6 - George V & Queen Mary
- December 12 - Rupert Hughes & Agnes Wheeler Hedge Category:1893 ko:1893년 ms:1893 simple:1893 th:พ.ศ. 2436

Pontypridd

Pontypridd is a town in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taff, south Wales.It has a population of roughly 33,000, and is situated 12 miles north of the capital city, Cardiff. It is correctly pronounced "Pont-uh-PREETHE", but is known locally as "Ponty" (pronounced "Pontee"). The name Pontypridd is from the Welsh for bridge by the earthen house. The bridge in question was a footbridge across the River Taff. Pontypridd is, however, more famous for the Old Bridge, a stone bridge across the Taff built in 1755 by William Edwards. The bridge was the third attempted by Edwards, and at the time of construction was the longest stone-built single-arch bridge in Europe. The bridge is a perfect segment of a circle, the chord of which is 140 feet (43 m), and 35 feet (11 m) above the level of the river. Notable features are three holes of differing diameters through each end of the bridge. These were to reduce the weight of the bridge; the aesthetic nature of them was merely a bonus. However, the utility of the bridge was debatable. The steepness of the design made it difficult to get carts across it, and in 1857, a new bridge, the Victoria Bridge, was built adjacent to the old one, paid for by public subscription. Pontypridd was known as Newbridge from shortly after the construction of the Old Bridge until the 1860s. The history of Pontypridd is closely tied to the coal and iron industries. Sited as it is at the junction of the Rhondda and Taff valleys, it became an important location for the transportation of coal from the Rhondda and iron from Merthyr Tydfil, first via the Glamorganshire Canal and later via the Taff Vale Railway, to the ports at Cardiff and Barry. Because of its role in transporting coal cargo, its train platform was at one time the longest in the world. Today the town, which incorporates the village of Trefforest, is perhaps best known as home of the University of Glamorgan which started life as a mining college. Pontypridd boasts one of Wales's best rugby teams and frequently contributes players to the national team. It features a station called Pontypridd Station, as well as a hospital, Dewi Sant Hospital. Notable people from Pontypridd include:
- Tom Jones, singer of such classics as Delilah and The Green Green Grass of Home, born in neighbouring Treforest
- Evan James and James James, writers of Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau, the national anthem of Wales
- William Price, who carried out the first cremation in the UK in modern times at Llantrisant Common
- Opera singers Stuart Burrows and Geraint Evans who were born in nearby Cilfynydd
- Freddie Welsh, world champion boxer
- Michael Owen, Wales international rugby player
- Lostprophets, rock band
- Phil Campbell, guitarist with Motörhead Pontypridd hosted the National Eisteddfod in 1893. Category:Rhondda Cynon Taff Category:Towns in Wales

Cremation

Cremation is the practice of disposing of a corpse by burning. This often takes place in a crematorium or crematory. Cremation and burial are the main ways of final disposition of the dead.

Reasons for choosing cremation

People choose cremation for a variety of reasons, including religious reasons, other personal reasons, environmental reasons, and cost. For all these reasons, more and more people are choosing cremation.

Religious reasons in Dharmic Faiths

final disposition of the dead]] While the Abrahamic religions do not prohibit cremation or prefer burial over cremation, the Eastern religions (i.e., Dharmic faiths) such as Buddhism and Hinduism mandate the use of cremation. However, two exceptions to cremation apply in Hinduism. For example, monks, Hijras, and children under five are buried. Sikhism, although it has been influenced by Abrahamic religions such as Islam, utilizes cremation. Cremation was also practised in the ancient world, being mentioned in the Old Testament and used widely in the Greek and Roman civilizations.

Resurgence of cremation in the Christian world

In Christian countries, cremation fell out of favour due to the Christian belief in the physical resurrection of the body. Beginning in the Middle Ages, rationalists and classicists began to advocate it. Much later, Sir Henry Thompson, Surgeon to Queen Victoria, was the first to recommend the practice on health grounds after seeing the cremation apparatus of Professor Brunetti of Padua, Italy at the Vienna Exposition in 1873. In 1874 Thompson founded The Cremation Society of England. The society met opposition from the church, who would not allow cremation on consecrated ground, and from the government, who believed the practice to be illegal. Cremation was finally made legal in England by a court judgment in February, 1884 in Cardiff. An Act of Parliament for the Regulation of burning of human remains, and to enable burial authorities to established crematoria was passed in 1902.
The Roman Catholic Church
For most of its history, the Roman Catholic Church had a ban in place against cremation. It was seen as the most sacrilegious act towards the Christians and their God, not simply blaspheming, but physically declaring a disbelief in the Resurrection. In 1963 the Pope lifted the ban on cremation, and in 1966 allowed Catholic priests to officiate at cremation ceremonies. The church still officially prefers the traditional burial of the deceased. However cremation is now permitted as long as it is not done to express a refusal to believe in the resurrection of the body. Until 1997, church regulations stipulated that cremation was to take place after the funeral service has taken place. The church still prefers that funeral services take place before cremation. Such funeral services are conducted in the same manner as those of traditional burials up to the point of committal, where the body is taken to the crematorium instead of being buried. A burial service is performed after the cremation has finished. In 1997 the funeral rite was modified so that church funerals can take place when the body has already been cremated and the ashes were brought to the church. In such cases the ashes are placed in an urn or another worthy vessel. They are brought into the church and placed on a stand near the Easter candle. During the church service, and during the committal rite, prayers that make reference to the body are modified. Any prayers that refer to the "Body" of the deceased are replaced with "Earthly Remains." Since the lifting of the ban, even with the official preference for burial, the church has become more and more open to the idea of cremation. Many Catholic cemeteries now provide columbarium niches for housing cremated remains as well as providing special sections for the burial of cremated remains. Columbarium niches have even been made part of church buildings. However church officials tend to discourage this practice because of concerns over what would happen to the niches if such a parish closed or decided to replace the current building. The church does specify requirements for the reverent disposition of ashes. This means that the ashes are to be buried or entombed in an appropriate container, such as an urn. The church does not permit the scattering of ashes or keeping them at home. Traditional Catholics have objected to the practice of allowing cremation, which they cite as one reason among others to suport their claim that the post-Vatican II church is no longer the true Catholic Church.
Eastern Orthodox Church
The Eastern Orthodox Church forbids cremation. Exceptions are made for circumstances where it may not be avoided (when civil authority demands it, or epidemics) or if it may be sought for good cause, but when a cremation is willfully chosen for no good cause by the one who is deceased, he or she is not permitted a funeral in the church and may also be permanently excluded from liturgical prayers for the departed. In Orthodoxy, cremation is a rejection of the dogma of the general resurrection, and as such is viewed harshly.

List of religions that permit cremation

Ásatrú, Baptist Church, Buddhism, Calvinism, Christian Science, Church of England, Church of Ireland, Church of Scotland, Church in Wales, Hare Krishna, Hinduism (mandatory except for sanyasis, i.e., monks and children under five); Jainism, Jehovah's Witnesses, Liberal Judaism, Lutheranism, Methodism, Moravian Church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons), Presbyterianism, Roman Catholicism, Salvation Army, Scottish Episcopal Church, Seventh-day Adventist Church, Sikhs, Society of Friends (Quakers)., Unitarian Universalism

List of religions that forbid cremation

Bahá'í Faith, Eastern Orthodox Church, Islam, Orthodox Judaism, Zoroastrianism. Neo-Confucianism under Zhu Xi strongly discourages cremation of one's parents' corpses as unfilial.

Other personal reasons

Some people find they prefer cremation for other reasons. For some people it is because they are not attracted to traditional burial. The thought of a long, slow decomposition process is unappealing to some, and they find that they prefer cremation for that reason. Other people view cremation as a way of simplifying their funeral process. These people view a traditional burial as an unneeded complication of their funeral process, and thus chose cremation to make their services as simple as possible.

Environmental reasons

Others prefer cremation for environmental reasons. Some are concerned that during bodily decomposition body fluids and embalming chemicals could contaminate the Earth. Some locations have found that long-buried bodies are now causing groundwater contamination. Arsenic, used as an embalming chemical in the 19th and early 20th centuries, has been known to cause serious pollution later on. Another environmental concern is that traditional burial takes up a great deal of space. In a traditional burial the body is buried in a casket made from a variety of materials. In America the casket is often placed inside a concrete vault or liner before burial in the ground. While individually this may not take much room, combined with other burials it can over time cause serious space concerns. Many cemeteries, particularly in Europe and Japan as well as those in larger cities are starting to run out of space. In Tokyo for example, it is almost impossible to find a traditional funeral plot. One item of concern has been that the exhaust systems of cremation ovens may contribute to air pollution. In response crematorium manufacturers have built computerized control systems that regulate the exhaust systems to keep crematoriums from contributing to air pollution. Additionally some crematoria remove all plastic handles and fittings from a coffin before cremation and these are disposed of separately for the same reason.

Cost of cremation

The cost factor tends to make cremation attractive. Generally speaking, cremation costs less than traditional burial services, especially if direct cremation is chosen, in which the body is cremated as soon as legally possible without any sort of services. However, there is wide variation in the cost of cremation services, having mainly to do with the amount of service desired by the deceased or the family. A cremation can take place after a full traditional funeral service, which adds cost. The type of container used also influences cost. Cremation makes possible the scattering of remains over an area, eliminating the need for and expense of a burial space. However, some religions such as Roman Catholicism require burial or entombment of cremated remains. Burial or entombment also adds to the cost. The price will depend on what the deceased and/or the family has chosen. Cremated remains require far less space than a traditional burial or entombment. Cremation plots or columbarium niches usually cost less than a burial plot or mausoleum crypt.

Cremation process

Roman Catholicism

Cremation furnace

A cremation furnace is a large furnace capable of reaching high temperatures, with special modifications to ensure the efficient disintegration of the corpse. One of these modifications is the aiming of the flames at the corpse's torso, where a majority of the corpse's mass rests. The furnace may be part of a funeral home, or it may be part of an independent facility or a service offered by a cemetery. cemetery The furnaces use a number of different fuel sources, such as natural or propane gas. Modern cremation furnaces include control systems that monitor the conditions inside the furnace while a cremation is taking place. The operator can make adjustments to provide for more efficient burning, as well as ensuring that minimal environmental pollution occurs. A cremation furnace is not designed to cremate more than one body at a time, and to do so is against the law in all 50 US states and many other nations. The chamber where the body is placed is called the retort. It is lined with special bricks to help retain the heat. These bricks require replacement after about five years because of continual expansion and contraction due to temperature cycling.

Body container

cemetery A body to be cremated is first placed in a container for cremation, which can be a simple corrugated cardboard box or a wooden casket. Most casket manufacturers provide a line of caskets specially built for cremation. Another option is a cardboard box that fits inside a wooden shell designed to look like a traditional casket. After the funeral service the interior box is removed from the shell before cremation, permitting the shell to be reused. Funeral homes may also offer rental caskets, which are traditional caskets used only for the duration of the services, after which the body is transferred to another container for cremation. Rental caskets are sometimes designed with removable beds and liners, replaced after each use.

Burning and ashes collection

Funeral homes The box containing the body is placed in the retort and incinerated at a temperature of 760 to 1150 °C (1400 to 2100 °F). During the cremation process a large part of the body—especially the organs and other soft tissue—is vaporized due to the heat and is discharged through the exhaust system. All that remains after cremation are bone fragments, representing about five percent of the body's original mass, and the ashes of the cardboard box or wooden container. The entire process usually takes about two hours. After the incineration is completed, the bone fragments are swept out of the retort, and the operator uses a pulverizer called a cremulator to process them into a consistent powder. The cremulator (also known informally as a 'crembola') is essentially a rotating drum similar to a spindryer, except filled with steel ball bearings whose disturbance powders the weakened bones. spindryer This is one of the reasons cremated remains are called ashes although a technical term sometimes used is "cremains". The ashes are placed in a container, which can be anything from a simple cardboard box to a fancy urn. An unavoidable consequence of cremation is that a tiny residue of bodily remains is left in the chamber after cremation and mixes with subsequent cremations. Ashes can be kept in an urn, sprinkled on a special field or in the sea, or buried in the ground. The final disposition depends on the personal wishes of the deceased, as well as their religious beliefs. Some religions will permit the ashes to be sprinkled or kept at home. Other religions, such as Roman Catholicism, insist on either burying or entombing the ashes.

The Pyre alternative

An alternative method used in some cultures, such as Hinduism, is burning the corpse on a pyre. A pyre is a mound of wood upon which the deceased's body is placed on top or inside of. The mound is lit on fire, the fire consumes the wood and the deceased. This method is not commonly found in the western world where crematorium ovens are used.

Negative recent history experiences with cremation

World War II

During the Holocaust, massive crematoria were constructed and operated round-the-clock by the Nazis within their concentration and extermination camps to dispose of the bodies of thousands of Jews, Gypsies, and other prisoners who were killed or died in the camps daily. In addition to the atrocity of mass murder, the remains of Jews were thus disposed of in a manner deeply offensive to Orthodox Judaism because Halakha, the Jewish law, forbids cremation and holds that the soul of a cremated person cannot find its final repose. Since then, cremation has carried an extemely negative connotation for many Jews. A similar attitude also remains prevalent in some countries which were occupied by Germans during WWII, such as Poland and parts of Russia.

The Tri-State Crematory Incident

A recent controversial event involved the failure to cremate, known as the Tri-State Crematory Incident. In the state of Georgia in the United States in early 2002, three hundred thirty-four corpses that were supposed to have been cremated in the previous few years at the Tri-State Crematory were found intact and decaying on the crematorium's grounds, having been dumped there by the crematorium's proprietor. Many of the corpses were beyond identification. In many cases the "ashes" that were returned to the family were not human remains - they were made of wood and concrete dust. Eventually Ray Brent Marsh - who was the operator at the time the bodies were discovered - had 787 criminal charges filed against him. On November 19, 2004 Marsh pleaded guilty to all charges. Marsh was sentenced to two 12 year prison sentences from both Georgia and Tennessee which he is serving concurrently. Afterwards he will then be on probation for 75 years - in effect he will be on probation for the rest of his life. Civil suits were filed against the Marsh family as well as a number of funeral homes who shipped bodies to Tri-State. These suits were ultimately settled. The property of the Marsh family has been sold, but collection of the full $80 million judgment remains doubtful. Families have expressed the desire to return the former Tri-State crematory to a natural, park like setting.

The Indian Ocean tsunamis

The magnitude 9.0-9.3 2004 Indian Ocean Earthquake triggered a series of lethal tsunamis on December 26, 2004 that killed over 175,000 people was the deadliest tsunami in recorded history. The tsunami killed people over an area ranging from the immediate vicinity of the quake in Indonesia, Thailand and the north-western coast of Malaysia to thousands of kilometres away in Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, the Maldives, and even as far as Somalia, Kenya and Tanzania in eastern Africa. The Authorities had difficulties dealing with the large numbers of deceased people and therefore thousands of bodies had to be cremated together. Many of these bodies were not identified or viewed by relatives prior to cremation, which would have helped families better cope with their grief. A particular point of objection was that the bodies of Westerners were kept separate (officials understanding the dire long-term consequences for tourism if they were not identified and repatriated) from those of Asian descent, who were mostly locals. This meant that tourists from other Asian nations, such as Japan and Korea, were mass cremated rather than returned for funeral rites in their country of origin. However it is very important to note that after one to two weeks of decomposition in the heat it becomes nearly impossible to differentiate one body from another, even to normally obvious things such as age, race or at times even gender.

See also


- Dr William Price the eccentric Welsh physician who performed the first legal cremation in the United Kingdom.
- List of people who were cremated
- List of fictional people who were cremated

External links


- [http://www.srgw.demon.co.uk/CremSoc/CremHomeAlt.html The Cremation Society of Great Britain]
- [http://www.cremationassociation.org/ Cremation Association of North America]
- [http://www.cremate-me.net/ Detailed but possibly offensive description of the cremation process] Category:Death customs ja:火葬

United Kingdom

:For other meanings of the terms "United Kingdom" and "UK" , see United Kingdom (disambiguation) and UK (disambiguation). :For an explanation of terms like England, (Great) Britain and United Kingdom see British Isles (terminology). The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (usually shortened to the United Kingdom or the UK) is a country located off the north-western coast of continental Europe, surrounded by the North Sea, the English Channel, the Celtic Sea, the Irish Sea, and the Atlantic Ocean. It is composed of four constituent parts: three constituent countries—England, Scotland, and Wales—on the island of Great Britain, and the province of Northern Ireland on the island of Ireland. The border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland forms the United Kingdom's principal international land border, although there is a nominal frontier with France in the middle of the Channel Tunnel. The UK has several overseas territories and the Crown dependencies of the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands come under the UK's sovereignty. The UK also has close relationships with the fifteen other Commonwealth Realms, as they all share the same head of state. The UK is also one of the largest member states of the European Union and a founding partner of both the UN and NATO.

Terminology


- United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland: The official name for the sovereign state
- United Kingdom: an abbreviation of United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
- Britain: an informal term that sometimes means United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and sometimes means Great Britain
- British: an informal term that sometimes means from the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and sometimes means from Great Britain
- Great Britain (as a geographical term): the largest island of the British Isles
- Great Britain (as a political term): England + Wales + Scotland
- British Isles (as a geographical term): Great Britain + Ireland + many smaller surrounding islands. This term is disputed, please see below.
- Ireland (as a geographical term): the second largest island of the British Isles
- Ireland (as a political term): an abbreviation of the Republic of Ireland, a sovereign state on the island of Ireland
- Northern Ireland: a political region of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
- Ulster (as a geographical term): Often used to refer to Northern Ireland. It is derived from the Irish Language term 'Ulad.' It was one of the ancient Irish provinces (the others were Connaught, Leinster and Munster.). Although it is normally used to refer to Northern Ireland, Ulster also (traditionally) includes Counties Cavan, Monaghan and Donegal, which lie in the Republic of Ireland. The term Ulster is often favoured by the Protestant community.

History

Protestant Today's state is the latest of several unions formed over the last 1000 years. Scotland and England have existed as separate unified entities since the 10th century. Wales, under English control since the Statute of Rhuddlan in 1284, became part of the Kingdom of England by the Laws in Wales Act 1535. With the Act of Union 1707, the separate kingdoms of England and Scotland, having shared the same monarch since 1603, agreed to a permanent union as the Kingdom of Great Britain. The Act of Union 1800 united the Kingdom of Great Britain with the Kingdom of Ireland, which had been gradually brought under English control between 1169 and 1691, to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland was formed in 1922, after bitter fighting which echoes down to the current political strife, the Anglo-Irish Treaty partitioned Ireland into the Irish Free State and Northern Ireland, with the latter remaining part of the United Kingdom. As provided for in the treaty, Northern Ireland, which consists of six of the nine counties of the Irish province of Ulster, immediately opted out of the Free State and to remain in the UK. The nomenclature of the UK was changed in 1927 to recognise the departure of most of Ireland, with the current name being adopted. 1927 The United Kingdom, the dominant industrial and maritime power of the 19th century, played a leading role in developing Western world ideas of property, liberty, capitalism and parliamentary democracy - to say nothing of its part in advancing world literature and science. At its zenith, the British Empire stretched over one quarter of the Earth's surface and encompassed a third of its population. The first half of the 20th century saw the UK's strength seriously depleted from the effects of World War I and World War II. The second half witnessed the dismantling of the Empire and the UK rebuilding itself into a modern and prosperous nation. The UK has been a member of the European Union since 1973. Its attitude towards further integration is conservative, and there is significant Euroscepticism in UK politics. It has not chosen to adopt the Euro, owing to internal political considerations and the government's judgement of the prevailing economic conditions.

Government and politics

The United Kingdom is a constitutional monarchy, with executive power exercised on behalf of the Queen by the Prime Minister and other cabinet ministers who head departments. The cabinet, including the Prime Minister, and other ministers collectively make up Her Majesty's Government. These ministers are drawn from and are responsible to Parliament, the legislative body, which is traditionally considered to be "supreme" (that is, able to legislate on any matter and not bound by decisions of its predecessors). The UK is one of the few countries in the world today that does not have a codified constitution, relying instead on customs and separate pieces of constitutional law. While the monarch is Head of State and holds all executive power, it is the Prime Minister who is the head of government. The government is answerable chiefly to the House of Commons and the Prime Minister is drawn from this chamber of Parliament by constitutional convention. The majority of cabinet members will be from the House of Commons, the rest from the House of Lords. Ministers do not, however, legally have to come from Parliament, though that is the modern day custom. The British system of government has been emulated around the world - a legacy of the United Kingdom's colonial past - most notably in the other Commonwealth Realms. The Prime Minister is chosen as the MP who can command a majority in the House of Commons - usually the leader of the largest party or, if there is no majority party, the largest coalition. The current Prime Minister is Tony Blair of the Labour Party, who has been in office since 1997. In the United Kingdom the monarch has extensive theoretical powers, but his or her role is mainly, though not exclusively, ceremonial. The monarch is an integral part of Parliament (as the "Crown-in-Parliament") and theoretically gives Parliament the power to meet and create legislation. An Act of Parliament does not become law until it has been signed by the Queen (being given Royal Assent), although no monarch has refused to assent to a bill that has been approved by Parliament since Queen Anne in 1708. Although the abolition of the monarchy has been suggested several times, the popularity of the monarchy remains strong in spite of recent controversies. Support for a British republic usually fluctuates between 15% and 25% of the population, with roughly 10% undecided or indifferent [http://www.mori.com/mrr/2000/c000616.shtml]. The current monarch is Queen Elizabeth II who acceded to the throne in 1952 and was crowned in 1953. Parliament is the national legislature of the United Kingdom. It is the ultimate legislative authority in the United Kingdom, according to the doctrine of parliamentary sovereignty. It is bicameral, composed of the elected House of Commons and the unelected House of Lords, whose members are mostly appointed. The House of Commons is the more powerful of the two houses. The House of Commons has 646 members who are directly elected from single-member constituencies based on population. The House of Lords has 724 members (though this number is not fixed): hereditary peers, life peers, and bishops of the Church of England. The Church of England is the established church of the state in England. established church]] The two largest political parties are the Labour Party and Conservative Party. The UK has long had a two-party system, but in the last 20 years the Liberal Democrats have re-emerged as a large third party. The electoral system used for general elections is first-past-the-post. The constitution of the United Kingdom is un-codified and partially unwritten, which means that no single document regulates how the government works, and unwritten constitutional conventions are used extensively. The constitution is based on the principle that Parliament is the ultimate sovereign body in the country. There has long been a widespread sense of national identity in the Celtic nations. Throughout the late 19th century the UK debated giving Ireland home rule. The Scottish National Party was founded in 1934, and Plaid Cymru (Party of Wales) in 1925. Referenda for devolution succeeded in 1997 for Scotland and Wales and in 1998 for Northern Ireland. In 1999, the Scottish Parliament and the National Assembly for Wales were established, the former having primary legislative power. Proportional representation is used for the elections, which has resulted in a Labour-Liberal Democrat coalition government in Scotland. Due to internal disagreements, the Northern Ireland Assembly has been suspended since 2002.

Subdivisions

The United Kingdom is a country that is divided into four constituent parts:
- England
- Scotland
- Northern Ireland
- Wales The constituent parts of the United Kingdom have administrative subdivisions as follows:
- The regions and administrative counties of England
- The council areas of Scotland
- The counties and county boroughs of Wales
- The districts of Northern Ireland The Laws in Wales Act 1535 incorporated Wales and England into England and Wales for legal purposes. Although all four have historically been divided into counties, England's population is an order of magnitude larger than the others so in recent years it has for some purposes been divided into nine intermediate-level Government Office Regions. Each region is made up of counties and unitary authorities, apart from London, which consists of London boroughs. Although at one point it was intended that each or some of these regions would be given its own regional assembly, the plan's future is uncertain, as of 2004, after the North East region rejected its proposed assembly in a referendum. Scotland consists of 32 Council Areas. Wales consists of 22 Unitary Authorities, styled as 10 County Boroughs, 9 Counties, and 3 Cities. Northern Ireland is divided into 26 Districts. Also sometimes associated with the United Kingdom, though not constitutionally part of the United Kingdom itself, are the Crown dependencies (the Bailiwicks of Jersey and Guernsey, and the Isle of Man) as self-governing possessions of the Crown, and a number of overseas territories under the sovereignty of the United Kingdom.

Military

The armed forces of the United Kingdom are known as the British Armed Forces or Her Majesty's Armed Forces, officially the Armed Forces of the Crown. Their Commander-in-Chief is the Queen and they are managed by the Ministry of Defence. Ministry of Defence The British Armed Forces are charged with protecting the United Kingdom and its overseas territories, promoting the United Kingdom's wider security interests, and supporting international peacekeeping efforts. They are active and regular participants in NATO and other coalition operations. The United Kingdom fields one of the most powerful and comprehensive military forces in the World. Its global power projection capabilities are second only to those of the United States Armed Forces. The British Army had a reported strength of 112,700 in 2004, including 7,600 women, and the Royal Air Force a strength of 53,400. The 40,900-member Royal Navy is in charge of the United Kingdom's independent strategic nuclear arm, which consists of four Trident Ballistic Missile Submarines, while the Royal Marines provide infantry units for amphibious assault and for specialist reinforcement forces in and beyond the NATO area. This puts total active duty military troops in the 210,000 range, currently deployed in over 80 countries. The UK's special forces, principally the SAS, provides elite commandos trained for quick, mobile, military responses; often where secrecy or covert operations are required. The Royal Navy is the second largest navy in the World in terms of gross tonnage. Despite the United Kingdom's wide ranging capabilities, recent pragmatic defence policy has a stated assumption that any large operation would be undertaken as part of a coalition. Bosnia, Kosovo, Afghanistan, Iraq (Granby, No-Fly-Zones, Desert Fox and